Dogsbody
by Lady Dudley
Summary: Set during "Dead Man's Chest" Stuart considers his position on the team and the reasons for it. Implied Michael/Jackie


**A/N: It occurred to me that there's not much out there for poor Stuart either. So this is something I wrote for him after I watched _Dead Man's Chest_ again today and got this idea. It _did_ turn out being a bit more Michael/Jackie than I had intended though, it was meant to be a sort of 'what Stuart knew' based on his observations. But nevermind, I hope it still works! Oh, and the whole Jackie and chocolate thing is because I'm a chocoholic and it's something I've used in my other stories. And Michael having the same thing with jelly beans just made me smile. Hope it works for you guys too :)**

**As mentioned above, this is set during during _Dead Man's Chest_ (I highly recommend that episode - great performance by Billy Boyd as Jackie's cousin)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Dogsbody**

There were times when Stuart considered himself little more than a glorified dogsbody. Especially in moments like this. He tried not to feel resentful as he watched Michael and Jackie grab their coats, on their way out for a break and bite to eat.

"Don't worry, we'll bring you something back," Michael had tossed over his shoulder as he followed Jackie out the door. Jackie had said something then, distracting Michael so he hadn't seen the face that Stuart had pulled behind his back.

Stuart sat down at his desk; sinking low in his chair and propping his feet up on the desk. Something he wouldn't normally do if Michael had been around.

He tossed a glower in the direction of Jackie's desk. Of course it _would_ be her that Michael invited out for a bite to eat; he had been enjoying helping out more closely in the case during her break. Then she'd walked back through those doors and he'd been pushed back into the sidelines.

He wasn't so uncharitable to either Michael or Jackie to claim that it was just because Michael was swayed by her feminine charms that she held such a prominent position in the team. And it wasn't that Michael didn't trust him either, he just trusted Jackie more. Most of which Stuart could attribute to the fact that Jackie had been working with Michael for longer, but there were times when he wondered if there was something else involved.

It was always the little things that he noticed: the way his eyes would linger on her face while she spoke or how they could occasionally communicate without words. That she would always be the one to face up to him, the only one he'd listen to. The fact that, no matter what happened she was always two steps behind him, always ready to come to his defence. The most telltale sign, however, was the way he always responded – no matter what – when she called his name.

Stuart wasn't a Detective for nothing. He was often assigned a place in the background to go through old cases files or the like, but that gave him ample opportunity to observe his colleagues. That had been how he discovered that DCs Campbell and Williams were having an affair and that it was McVitie who had broken the coffee machine. Sometimes it was even how he found the breakthrough that was needed in the case.

It was how he had managed to note all the little indicators between Michael and Jackie in the first place. Now as he sat in his corner, waiting for the psychiatric report to arrive, he wondered how long it would be before someone else noticed.

Noticed that the reason Jackie was in the backseat when they drove somewhere was so that Michael could sneak glances at her without being too obvious. That whenever a case took a particular strain on Michael, Jackie would slip a little something onto his desk; sometimes something as simple as a tea or, more often than not, a bag of jelly beans. Something which was always lost on Stuart, much like how when a case was too much for Jackie, Michael would slip a block of chocolate in her top desk drawer when he thought no one was watching.

With that thought in mind Stuart began to wonder. They both had been looking awfully strained of late, even when they were together. Making sure that he was the only one in the office, he snuck over to Jackie's desk and opened the top drawer. Sure enough a block of chocolate rested on top of the papers, a sticky note attached to it with the words: _I'm sorry –M._

Interesting, he didn't remember ever seeing notes attached to the chocolate Michael had slipped in prior to this one. But then he had never gotten a good look at them before; the first time he had seen it happen he hadn't been entirely sure he wasn't seeing things.

Closing Jackie's drawer he made his way over to Michael's office and peeped through the door. In the middle of his desk sat a bag of jelly beans, another sticky note attached.

This one he didn't read, he merely shut the door again. Perhaps there had been more to this break after all, Stuart mused, settling back into his chair. Well, if it meant they could patch up whatever it was that had obviously gone on between them, he wouldn't begrudge them in the slightest.

He looked up as a WPC came in and handed him the psychiatric report for Grady's sister. He grinned to himself as he opened it.

Oh no, he wouldn't begrudge them their break; especially when it meant it gave him the opportunity to crack the case.

------

**A/N: I couldn't resist giving Stuart his little moment of glory at the end :) Hope you enjoyed it!**


End file.
